Republican legislators filed a lawsuit against Ohio’s two-year, federally funded Medicaid expansion
after Republican Gov. John Kasich went through the Controlling Board,
an obscure seven-member legislative panel, instead of the
Republican-controlled Ohio House and Senate to get approval for the
expansion. The lawsuit, filed to the Ohio Supreme Court, claims, “Each
representative is disenfranchised in his legislative capacity through
the Controlling Board’s exercise of legislative authority.” Kasich put his request to the Controlling Board
to bypass the legislature after months of unsuccessfully wrangling
legislators in his own party to approve the expansion. The Health Policy
Institute of Ohiopreviously found
the expansion would insure between 300,000 and 400,000 Ohioans through
fiscal year 2015; if legislators approve the expansion beyond that, the
institute says it would generate $1.8 billion for Ohio and insure nearly
half a million Ohioans over the next decade.

State officials haven’t inspected southwest Ohio jails for five years,
which means the jails could be breaking minimum standards set by the
state without anyone knowing. The inspections were supposed to occur each
year, but a lack of resources, which left only one inspector in the
department, forced the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
(ODRC) to stop the practice and instead ask jails to inspect themselves —
with limited checks on jails fabricating claims. The inspections are
starting back up now that ODRC has a second jail inspector on its staff,
but the inspections are announced beforehand, meaning jails can plan
for them, and the punishment for failing to meet standards is
historically unenforced.

State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, says he will introduce two amendments
to walk back controversial provisions of an even more controversial
bill that weakens Ohio’s renewable energy and efficiency standards.
Critics say the bill would water down and effectively eliminate Ohio’s
cost-saving energy standards, but Seitz, who has ties to a national conservative group that opposes energy standards,
argues the rules impose too many costs on utility companies. A previous
study from Ohio State University and Ohio Advanced Energy Economy found
repealing the standards would increase Ohioans’ electricity bills by
$3.65 billion over the next 12 years. CityBeat covered Seitz’s proposal and the controversy surrounding it in further detail here.

City Solicitor John Curp and Ohio Ethics Commission Executive Director Paul Nick said in an Oct. 22 email exchange
that it was ethically OK for Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls to retain her
job as a realtor and vote in support of the streetcar project, even
though the project could indirectly benefit Qualls by increasing
property values — and therefore her compensation as a realtor — along
the route. The exchange was provided to CityBeat and various
media outlets after mayoral candidate John Cranley criticized Qualls,
who is also running for mayor, for the alleged ethical violation at an
Oct. 22 press conference. But Curp and Nick, who cited two previous
opinions from the Ohio Ethics Commission, agreed that Qualls’ financial
connection to property values was too indirect and speculative because
she only picks up a flat fee for the “arms-length transactions between
private parties.” Curp also noted that Qualls had asked about the
potential ethical conflict two times before.

A state prison in Toledo is no longer accepting new inmates
after reports of increasing violence. The goal is to cut down on the
amount of prisoners sharing a cell, ODRC spokeswoman JoEllen Smith told
The Associated Press. Smith said the change was already in the works
before a recent bout of killings. The facility holds roughly 1,300 prisoners, which
is close to capacity.

Former Ohio State University President Gordon Gee is heading a state committee created by Gov. Kasich that’s trying to figure out how to curb college costs while improving quality.

Early voting for the 2013 City Council and mayoral elections is now underway. Find your voting location here. Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are extended.

On Oct. 29, local residents will be able to give feedback
to Cincinnati officials about the city budget — and also nab some free
pizza. The open budgeting event is from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 29
at 1115 Bates Ave., Cincinnati.

The Hamilton County Jail charges its inmates a fee for
incarceration, and a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union
of Ohio (ACLU) suggests the practice harms low-income inmates and raises little money for the county. CityBeat
got an exclusive early look at the report, which scrutinized three
counties for their pay-to-stay policies. Among the three samples,
Hamilton County had the second lowest fees and did the second
least harm to low-income people, according to the report. Although the
ACLU was hopeful the report and the election of a new sheriff would
inspire some change, Hamilton County officials told CityBeat that no changes are planned.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday struck down the federal ban on same-sex marriage, and some local and state leaders had a few things to say about it.
The reactions seem to vary depending on a partisan basis, with
Republicans in opposition and Democrats in favor. Rest assured: Here at CityBeat, we favor giving equal rights to people no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity.

City Council yesterday approved funding and accountability measures for the Cincinnati streetcar project
and funding for development at Fourth and Race streets, which will
include a downtown grocery store. The streetcar measures close the
project’s $17.4 million budget gap by issuing more debt and pulling
funding from various capital projects, including infrastructure
improvements around the Horseshoe Casino. The accountability measures,
which were initially introduced by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, require
the city manager to update City Council with a timeline of key
milestones, performance measures, an operating plan, staffing
assessments and monthly progress reports.

It’s local election season. In the next five months, City Council will meet only seven times, down from the typical 14.

Odis Jones is leaving his post as Cincinnati’s director of economic development
to become CEO of the Detroit Public Lighting Authority, a city-run utility
operated by an independent board. Jones was known at City Council
meetings for making passionate pitches for various economic development
projects, including the most recent plans for Fourth and Race streets.
He told Business Courier he wants to go to Detroit to play a role in the revitalization
of his hometown: “My mother always said, 'If you see a good fight, get
in it.' I'm in it.”

The Ohio House voted to ban red-light cameras
despite arguments that the cameras have reduced
traffic accidents and saved lives. An Ohio Senate vote is expected in
the fall.